Surfer’s Paradise, Australia

We’ll be honest, we weren’t blown away by Surfer’s Paradise, but the busy city did have some bright parts. The beach extended forever and the Paradise Centre area sported a bunch of cool outdoor shops and restaurants. However this wasn’t a place for penny pinchers,and we certainly fell into this category as we were near the end of our trip. The main draw here was the beach and the nightlife, but when the cover is $30 AUS our night ended a little early. We were happy we visited, but quickly moved along to Byron Bay which was more our speed.

How to Get There

We used our hop on/hop off greyhound pass which allowed us to travel from Cairns to Melbourne for $520 AUS, but travel on the bus between Hervey Bay and Surfer’s Paradise costs about $73 AUS. The trip took about 6 hours 45 mins.

We also travelled between Surfer’s Paradise and Byron Bay on the greyhound. That took about 3 hours (though with the time change we lost an hour travelling between Queensland and New South Wales due to daylight savings) and that leg of the trip would run you about $34 AUS.

Where to Stay

Down Under Hostel – We settled on dorm room beds in Surfer’s Paradise because the costs of a private room were steep. The Down Under Hostel was pretty great though, it had amazing facilities. It had a whole bunch of nice computers to use, laundry, big room with massive tv and a PS4, and a pool, all free to use. It was also very close to both the bus stop and city center. The dorm rooms consisted of two bunk beds each and they were pretty comfy. All of that for $34 a bed in Australia wasn’t half bad. You can book Down Under Hostel online here.

What to Do

Chill on the Beach – Though it’s apparently not actually the best area for surfing, the beach is pretty nice to hang out on. It’s massive so you’ll have lots of room to spread out, or wander up and down to check out the sights.

Wander the Paradise Centre– A little touristy and expensive, but the paradise centre is still a fun place to spend some time. The indoor/outdoor mall has lots of fun shops and restaurants to explore.

Enjoy the Nightlife – If you’ve got some money to spare drink some goon and head out to one of the many clubs in the area!